Fed Circuit Blocks|Ban on ‘Word’ Sales

(CN) – Microsoft can continue selling its Word program in the United States – for now. The Federal Circuit granted Microsoft’s motion to stay a ban that a federal judge imposed in August, pending the software giant’s appeal in its patent dispute with a small Canadian company.

U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis in Tyler, Texas, ruled that Microsoft had infringed on patents owned by i4i, a Canadian software company with about 30 employees. He fined Microsoft $290 million and banned it from selling Word in the United States, effective Oct. 10. Toronto-based i4i claimed that Word violated a patent tied to XML, or Extensible Markup Language, which allows computers to interpret and display text. The federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., put the judge’s order on hold until resolution of Microsoft’s appeal. Oral arguments are scheduled for Sept. 23.